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Introduction

Ghosts (original Norwegian title: Gengangere) is a play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It was written in 1881 and first staged in 1882.^[1]

Like many of Ibsen's better-known plays, Ghosts is a scathing commentary on 19th century morality.

Ghosts was written during the autumn of 1881 and was published in December of the same year. It was not performed in the theatre until May 1882, when a Danish touring company produced it in the Aurora Turner Hall in Chicago.^[1] Ibsen disliked the translator William Archer's use of the word 'Ghosts' as the play's title, whereas the Norwegian "Gengangere" would be more accurately translated as "The Revenants"^{[citation needed]}, which literally means "The Ones who Return".

Note - This play was originally written in Danish and the word "Gengangere" is not Norwegian, the Norwegian word is "Gjengangere" but the translation is reasonable, literally translated it means "again walkers". On the other hand Norwegians also use the term about people who frequently show up in the same places, be they pubs, parties or first nights or other places or occasions.

The play achieved a single private London performance on 13 March 1891 at the Royalty Theatre. The Lord Chamberlain's Office censorship was avoided by the formation of a subscription-only Independent Theatre Society, which included George Bernard Shaw, Thomas Hardy and Henry James among its members^[2].